JENNI MURRAY

So that’s why De Niro’s in so many turkeys!

NaTurallY, none of us wants to be responsible for the destruction of the planet, but the Prime Minister’s pledge to reduce the uK’s carbon emissions by nearly 80 per cent by 2035 has sent me into something of a flat spin. There is so much work to be done and so much money to be spent if we are all to comply with what will be required to meet the climate target. Critics have accused the PM of ‘shameless virtue signalling’.

It’s no surprise boris leapt in early with his proposals, given today he’s attending President biden’s first climate summit. Is he out to impress his fellow leaders and his eco-savvy fiancee?

boris may be keen to leave a legacy of positive change, but how aware is he of the extraordinary cost to all of us of pursuing the world’s most ambitious targets?

I have some experience of what a big job it can be to upgrade your home to the necessary standard. My brilliant engineer husband was on it early when our home was a 16th- century farmhouse in the Peak District. First came insulating the loft. The disruption caused by fixing the roof and keeping out draughts was significant.

There was no gas in such a remote area. Oil heating was the only option until he discovered the wonders of the air source heat pump. Installed some 15 years ago, it cost £11,000. I never did quite understand how it worked, but it sat outdoors and rather resembled a large air-conditioning unit.

It was described as working in the opposite way to a fridge. It sucked in cold air from the outside and turned it into heat.

Considerable

adaptations had to be made to connect it to the radiators and hot water. More disruption. but it saved on the cost of oil and electricity and worked perfectly. We felt we were doing our bit.

Then we moved. We needed to downsize after the children were gone and it seemed to be a good idea to move south, away from the cold and wet of the north-West.

The new house is much smaller and there’s very little space outside. The gas boiler is relatively new and works well and the insulation seems adequate, but if oil and gas boilers could be banned in the next few years, maybe we’ll need to crack on with a low carbon boiler or even, if we can squeeze it into the garden, another air source heat pump. We’ll be talking at least £10,000 to get the standard of energy efficiency that’s needed.

Then there’s transport. sales of fossil- fuelled cars, including hybrids, are set to be banned by 2030. I have a petrol Mini, my husband’s is also a Mini — diesel powered, bought long ago when we were told diesel was safer than petrol. That advice was a big mistake.

a small electric car for pottering around locally is likely to cost £15,000. a bigger electric car which might get me from the coast to london without re- charging is currently priced around £44,000. and where are the charging points locally? I have no idea. Gosh what a worry it all is.

I’ll be 85 by the time the targets have to be met and we’ll do our best to manage, but it will mean considerable anxiety for the next generation. Funding to help those who can’t begin to afford it must be put in place.

Meanwhile, I’ll do what little I can. no more flying for exotic holidays. I hate airports and time on a plane anyway, so that’s easy. no more eating meat every day. Going meatfree two days a week will, apparently, cut the emissions from farming. but cutting down my milk consumption? no! Three quarters of a pint of skimmed each morning is vital for my two café lattes.

If I drop that I’d be green. not the kind of green the PM intends, but green with fury. You have to draw the line somewhere.